Monday, November 17, 2014

Democrats: Look What Two Parties By And For The Rich Got Us.

First published in DelawareLiberal on 11/17/2014 by ProgressivePopulist

Hey DNC and State Party Chairs: Look at our reality. We've got the
Presidency for two more years; the Repugnant party has both houses and
the Supreme Court. What's more, they've got 68 out of 98 partisan state
legislatures and 31 governorships. We, the party "of the people" came
up just a bit short but your reaction seems just a bit muted given these
dire circumstances.

And this is not a short term hiccup. Look at
the gerrymandering they've already accomplished at the state and
federal office levels. And their think tanks, cranking out really
people-destructive policies for the care and feeding of Repugnant
legislators. And their well oiled money machines, fueled by Citizens
United and the Supremes. Theirs is a highly strategic plan to put all
the power in the hands of the super wealthy, including corporate
America.

Yea, I'm sounding a bit pessimistic but where is the call
for dramatic change with how we run this party and setting a whole new
course for a Democratic Party future? There is but a whimper from our
Dem leadership and apparently total boredom at the grassroots. They
seem to be talking about tweaks and minor adjustments, not radical
reform and change. Is this what you call irrelevance? Sure looks like
we are to the body politic.

Bipartisanship is merely a defensive
tactic to forestall total annihilation, grab some crumbs and grovel for
mercy. What we need to be is an opposition party with big ideas and a
big message machine. Loud and proud.

The one vehicle the
Repugnant party uses very effectively and we have yet to embrace and
master is marketing. No, marketing is not advertising. Marketing is
management of the exchange process. The currency we have to exchange
with the body politic, or at least the roughly half who are wired
liberal are big, bold ideas to benefit us all and the mechanism to sell
those ideas....to get them exchanged to the populace. The ideas can be
very specific and detailed, lists of components if you will. But
framed in a way that hits emotional hot buttons and triggers the
exchange.

What we need is a staff and consultant house cleaning to
shake up the foundation. And a new DNC membership which sees change
and big ideas as their mission and sees themselves as the Party sales
force. Right now the DNC is comprised of those seeking and granted
awards for being loyal troopers. The DNC should be comprised of
firebrand doers and organizers. Aggressive, loud and yes, sometimes
intemperate. The leadership should be of that mold as well. Screw
calm. We're already too calm.

Candidates and office holders,
such as we've got them now, of the same mold I've described. Doers, not
patronage seekers. This party has run on patronage. Yes, it must be
representative of the base, but its got way to many leaders, even at the
grassroots, who are furniture because they look good. Looking good and
looking representative isn't enough. It's going to take activists and
doers in every representative category. Scrap the furniture and
replace it with functioning change agents who are in the main out there
in movement politics, not party politics. A party that can and will
lead a populist uprising.

We do not need two parties serving the
interests of the rich. One, the Repugnants, are doing quite well at
that thank you. We need a party that understands the systemic problems
denying the American Dream. An economy not built to reward hard work
and innovation, a taxation system which spreads the wealth while not
harming the successful, a political system owned by a participating,
grassroots electorate, not private interest lobbies and a reinvigorated
sense of community that makes helping those needing help an imperative
and duty.

The ideas to accomplish this already exist. They don't
need invention. They need mining, embracing and selling to the
desperate people who have been deluded by the Repugnants into believing
they serve those desperate people. One place I'd look for those ideas
is California. Look at the turnaround out there. Look at a Democratic
Party there that helped get it done and leadership it cultivated to
implement the turnaround.

We need a populist uprising. No, not
one that bashes corporations. One that recognizes that properly
regulated, they can and will do good stuff. But one that demands that
they, the people run political system, not the commercial sector.

About Me

Moved to Wilmington, Delaware in mid-2013. Resided in Houston, Texas for 45 years. A widower, married Julie Jackson in 2007. Retired as a hospital marketing consultant in 2001.Have been a Democratic Party political activist for most of my adult life, organizing and mobilizing for the Party and its candidates. Consider myself a progressive populist. Early career included running communications for 35 campaigns. Have formed and led committees dealing with voter mobilization and precinct organizing, counter voter suppression and strategy.Co-founded the Progressive Populist Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party. Have served on the Texas Democratic Party Platform Committee numerous times. Also an active organizer for the anti-war movement since Vietnam and was active in the civil rights movement.